Beware of lottery scams

Deputies are urging Collier County residents to use caution when they get telephone calls, letters, texts or e-mails which sound too good to be true.

The warning comes after two residents were contacted by scammers in recent weeks.

Deputies said both women received telephone calls telling them they won the lottery. Both women recognized the calls were scams and contacted the Collier County Sheriff's Office.

An 85-year-old East Naples woman told deputies that she received a call around 9 p.m. on July 16 from a man who said she won $2 million and a new house. The woman replied that she wasn't interested in the prize and told him not to call her again, according to CCSO reports.

The woman received a second phone call from the man around 8 a.m. on July 17. He told her he was coming to her home with a check for her to sign. She told him not to come by her home or to call again, reports said.

The man told her that he was a federal agent and would arrest her if she didn't sign the check, reports said.

On July 26 a 78-year-old North Naples woman received a call from a man who told her she had won the lottery. The man said she would have to pay $3,500 in order to claim her winnings, reports said.

The woman told deputies that she told the caller that she didn't have the money and hung up. She did not get an address for where to send the money, reports said.

CCSO reminds the public that lotteries don't make contact with winners via phone, texts or e-mail. In addition, any taxes due are deducted from the winnings.

If you didn't play the lottery, then you didn't win it.

Anyone with information on this or any other scam should call the Collier County Sheriff's Office at 252-9300.